Unexpected
by xPaige Turnerx
Summary: Alternate Universe. All human. Alice/Bella. When a notorious player wants more than just a fling, and the object of her desire doesn't even see her like that.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything familiar.**

**Rated: T.**

**Author: xPaige Turnerx**

**Summary: Alternate Universe. All human. Alice/Bella. When a notorious player wants more than just a fling, and the object of her desire doesn't even see her like that.**

_**Unexpected**_

**PART ONE**

**-Bella-**

The sound of a shower turning on woke me up that morning. Well, not so much the shower turning on, even though there was only a foot of wall separating it from my room, but the knowledge that soon the entire apartment would be blaring music did. As was probably the case for any of our neighbours who were still around this late into the morning.

Like clockwork, not half a minute later was Breaking Benjamin blaring through the speakers.

With a huff, I yanked my pillow over my face, trying to block out the noise and get some more sleep. But like any other morning, that proved to be useless, and no matter what I did; wrapping the thing around my head, burying my head under blankets, sheets, pillows, and my hands, it was always the same result. Giving up, I whipped everything off to the bed beside me, glaring up at the ceiling with livid eyes. "That damn boy," I muttered, raising my fist over my head and placing it against the wall. "And his music!" I snarled, pounding my fist against the wall.

"Love you too, Bella!" His voice, muffled and faint, could barely be heard over the shower _and_ the music.

Figuring I might as well get up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and yawned, stretching my hands up to the ceiling before letting them fall limply at my sides again. Mondays… I freaking _hate_ Mondays. I mean, most people did and all because they had to go back to work, right? So, technically, they just hated work and not Monday itself, unlike me. I didn't always work Mondays. Hell, sometimes I went a whole week without working. But there was just something about the actual _day_ Monday. It made me grouchy. Nothing ever fun or good happened on a Monday.

I shivered, feeling the hardwood floor that covered the entire apartment on my bare feet as I padded across my bedroom, slipping out of my room and closing my door behind me. The hallway was dark, seeing as there was rooms on either side of it and no windows, but as soon as it ended, which was right away because let's face it; this was an apartment and there was only five rooms back there separate from the living room and kitchen, it was bright as hell. Straight ahead from the hallway, across the room, was the front door, but to the right was the enormous space of the living room, that's one wall was made of windows. Then to the left was the kitchen. Everything was pretty open, the only thing separating the two largest spaces being the bar in the kitchen. The room right next to the kitchen was Milo's, and the one next to it was the laundry room, then the guest bedroom, and on the other side of the hallway was my room next to the washroom.

"Oh." A, well, stranger said. He was a shorter guy, closer to my height, with a baby face that was quickly turning red from embarrassment. His eyes were a blue that looked vaguely familiar, his hair blonde and spiked up with gel. The guy was sitting at the bar in the kitchen, a bowl of cereal in one hand and a spoonful half raised to his mouth in the other, staring at me like I had a gun. Which was really backwards because, for one; this was _my_ apartment he had, as far as I could tell, wandered/broken into, and two; well… I think one was enough, really.

"I think this is the part where you explain why you're in my home, eating my Coco Puffs." I muttered, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot.

Seriously, who _was_ this guy?

He set down his bowl, dropping the spoon into it while turning even more red. "Right, I-I'm Mike. Newton. We met briefly last night; I-I came back with Milo." The guy, Mike, said hastily. "He said I could help myself to breakfast. I'm sorry."

I quickly waved off his comment, walking around the bar and into the kitchen, searching through the fridge. "My bad, Mikey. I usually make a point of meeting the guys Milo brings home _before _hand to avoid this very situation. I was just… distracted last night." I had completely forgotten about meeting blondie the previous night; like I said, I tried to keep track because this happened _all_ the time. I couldn't remember the last time Milo was the only one sleeping in his room. I didn't feel too bad, though, because Milo avoided getting to know the names of my dates, and instead called them by numbers. Which freaked them out, but amused us.

Mike shifted on his stool. "Yes, I know. Milo told me about the breakup; I'm sorry."

And cue the awkwardness' return.

"I…er, broke up with them. Not the other way around." I replied quietly, settling for an apple for breakfast. Why did everyone always assume that I was the one dumped?

A painful silence fell over the room, though it could have been worse. I mean, it could have been _completely_ silent. At least we had music to pretend to be listening to. Mike cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck. "So, um, how long did you two date?"

"Not long," I shrugged. "A week, maybe two."

"Well if it's not meant to be, then it's not meant to be, right?" Mike said a little more confidently, offering a friendly smile. "You know; you're attractive, and obviously smart enough to get a fuckin' awesome job to pay for this place, right?" Why? Why did Milo always go for the foul mouthed ones? "If I weren't gay, I'd fu-"

"Thanks." I cut him off. I really, _really, _didn't want to know what he'd do.

Mike nodded, getting to his feet and put his bowl in the sink. "Well, I can't wait any longer; I'll be late for work. Well, lat_er_ for work. Tell Milo to call me?" He asked, walking to the door and swung on his coat. I nodded with a forced smile as he gathered his things up.

"Have a good one, Mikey." I called as headed for the elevator. His face screwed up at the name and I grinned, waving obnoxiously with a too sweet smile before slamming the door closer. Humming to myself, I wandered down the hall, banging on the bathroom door on my way to my room. "He's gone." I hollered over my shoulder.

The shower turned off and I heard Milo bound down the hall to his room a few minutes later while I gathered my clothes and hurried into the bathroom before all the heat could escape, and quickly hopped into the shower myself. Flyleaf came on and I smiled faintly, looking over Milo's extensive collection of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and other various shower/body/hair cleaning whatnots. My mind shifted to last night again, Victoria's confused expression and hurt look when I told her it was over. Guilt clutched at my heart and I sighed, shaking the thoughts from my head. My eyes caught the little mirror hanging on the wall of the shower as I looked over my shoulder, my gaze tracing over the ink on my back. Milo had talked me into getting a tattoo after my last breakup, and for some reason, I had agreed. Not that I regretted it now or anything, but I was compelled to get another one, and I didn't want to turn out to be eighty years old one day and covered in ink, all sagging and wrinkled. That'd be weird.

However, I was curious to see what this would look like in sixty some odd years. I had gotten the tree of life, mostly because it just stood out to me. It was bold, strong, vibrant even if it was just black, and I just… it made me feel better. Made me feel stronger, like I could draw courage or confidence from it.

But in sixty years, I wondered if it would still be the same. Or would the tree be just as wrinkled and old, withered away like me?

Before I could delve farther into that, the water turned cold and I gasped, jumping out of the shower. Damn Zimske. Stupid neighbours. Flushing when they know I'm in the shower. It was like they waited to go just so they could flush whenever I was in the shower. Stupid faulty plumbing.

"Joke's on you; I was already done!" I yelled, knowing they probably wouldn't hear and had probably walked off already. But I _was_ done, so I finished getting ready for the day. I dried off, pulling my hair up into the towel while I slipped on a bra and undergarments. I slid on my black jeans, hopping around while I pulled them up and did up the button, grabbing my belt. The shirt that I _had_ wanted to wear was still dirty, but that gave me the chance to wear the new dark blue tee shirt that Rosalie had gotten me last week. She had been out shopping with her sister, and spotted it in a window or something. And knowing how obsessed I was with Marvel tee shirts, had gotten it for me. There was a white and black spider on the chest; an old school Spiderman emblem.

I pulled off the towel, shaking my head around and my hair down, out of my face. After quickly blowdrying it, I grinned at myself in the mirror. Milo insisted that if you smiled at yourself every morning, you'd feel better about yourself and be happier and blah blah blah. As far as I could tell, it didn't do anything. I didn't really feel any different. Didn't look any different either; same old chocolate brown eyes, hair a mixture of mahogany, dark brown, red, and a few, very faint, blonde highlights, same old uneven lips, pale skin, lip ring, eyebrow piercing. They were just plain thick rings of metal each, with engraved dragons on them. I was a dork, big time, but no one ever noticed the dragons on them.

"Did'ya fall in, Bella?" Milo shouted from the other side of the door.

"Har har," I laughed dully as I stepped out of the bathroom, glaring up at the giant.

Milo was…very diverse.

His dad was Irish, like, pureblood full on Irish, while his mother was Greek; very Greek. They raised Milo somewhere in Ireland; he didn't ever really like talking about those times though, and moved out here to Seattle about six years ago, which was when I met him. Back then, he was still a teenager and hadn't fully matured yet. He was kind of a late bloomer; really just a boy with an Irish accent. But now he was a large, grown up man, well, as grown up as you can be at twenty-four. His hair was short, but long enough to hang in his eyes at times, but black like his mother's instead of firetruck red like his dad. He got his dad's moss green eyes though, and his mother's full, long lashes. I'd call his facial hair caveman-ish because it was so thick and covered basically from his side burns to his entire jaw and mouth, except for the fact that he kept it quite short and neat. And unlike either of his parents, he was a big bear of a man; standing tall at six foot five inches. He was right up there with Emmett, though not quite as big muscle wise. Where Emmett was almost bulky with muscle, Milo was lean; his muscles long, like a taut bow.

And though the Irish giant had no piercings, the big baby, he _did_ have a few tattoos, some of which I hadn't seen. Those were the ones I could definitely live without seeing, though, he informed me. I took his word, because it wasn't uncommon for him to roam the apartment in just a pair of boxers, and if I couldn't find them then, I really didn't want to know where they were. One of them was on the back of his shoulder, one he was quite proud of even if I constantly made fun of it and called him lame. _'Let your freak flag fly.'_ And though, yes, it was quite lame, I still kind of admired him for it. All his life he was given a hard time and had gone through hardships because of his orientation, and after the thousandth time someone called him a freak, he decided to get the tattoo.

"Someone's grouchy this mornin'." Milo commented in that irish accent of his that always managed to make me smile. His long arms wrapped around me, spinning me around the hall before setting me on my feet again. I buried my face in his chest, hugging him tight and took a deep breath of his _Axe_ spray cologne. Milo was gay as the day was long, but he was very manly. He never smelled girly or anything, even if he had more hair crap than I did, and he dressed like any other dude; a pair of baggy jeans and a T shirt, tight enough to show off his build, a couple of rubber wrist bands, granted one of them was rainbow, and another leather wristband on the other hand, with his grandfather's dog tags constantly hanging around his neck. Most people were actually shocked and didn't believe he was gay when they found out.

Twisted Transistor came on and Milo grinned, glancing down at his Korn band tee. The guy was obsessed with music and any shirt he ever wore had _some_ band on it. "So, I met Mike this morning." I commented, following him to the living room and flopped back on the couch next to him while he sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "He seemed… blonde."

Milo raised an eyebrow, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "Blonde?"

"Fine; he seemed pretty dull. I don't know _why_ you do this; you spend every other night with some _stranger_ who you know nothing about and have nothing in common with. You need to _date_ someone, Milo! Have a relationship and care about them!" I exclaimed.

"Do we _really_ need to get into this right now, _mom_?" He shot back, crossing his large arms over his chest. The short sleeve of his T shirt rode up revealing half of another tattoo; Greek symbols in a band around his bicep. He wouldn't tell me what they meant; he said if I could tell him what one of them meant, he'd tell me the rest; but I suck at drawing and couldn't ask someone who'd know, and every time I try to look up greek symbols; there's too many to go through that after a while they all start to look alike.

"I'm just worried about you. Twenty-four years old and you've never had a lasting relationship with someone." I informed him, snuggling up to his side and wrapped one of my arms around his broad chest.

He snorted, squeezing me back. "Says the girl whose runner up for Master of the Flings in this apartment. You've never had one either, so you don't get to nag me about not having one."

Scoffing, I playfully glared at Milo. "Hold the phone, man, I've so had one. Back when I was sixteen, I dated a boy named Eric for three months. So ha."

"That doesn't count."

"How do you figure?"

He shrugged his massive shoulders. "That was a long time ago. And it only lasted three months. And you kissed maybe twice. You were friends with a misleading title."

Rolling my eyes, I decided not to comment on that. He wasn't going to turn the tables and put me under the spotlight. "Don't you ever get lonely?"

"I've got you." He didn't miss a beat, his lips curling up into an amused grin.

I just snorted, slapping his chest before he got up and wandered off to the kitchen. Now that there was room, I stretched out along the length of the couch, rolling onto my stomach to try and spot the remote for the big screen TV. Like I had said before; the apartment was enormous, the ceiling _way_ up there since we were on the very top floor, unreachable even with two ladders. And the kitchen and living room was just one big space, the only thing separating them being the kitchen bar; so there was a ton of room everywhere, and a lot of the time the place looked kind of empty because of it. But we had a heck load of things to try and fill it up; a couch, a love seat, lazy boys, recliners, a big coffee table in front of all of those that were angled to the TV, a piano farther back and in the corner of the room, and, of course, Milo's foosball table. We even bought a basketball hoop one day when we were out, and put that up on one of the walls. Neither of us were really into basketball, but sometimes when we were bored, we'd see who could get the most shots in a row or whatever.

"Where's the remote?" I called after him, my eyes scanning all the furniture again.

"You don't work today?" Milo asked, returning with a bowl of cereal as he plopped down on one of the recliners. He nodded to the newspaper on the coffee tale and I yanked it back, grabbing the remote and started surfing the channels.

After finding nothing but news really, I switched it over to the X Box and got up to grab the controller. "Nope, not this week." Being a Photographer, you didn't get a lot of work, which bothered a lot of people, but the upside was that it paid well. "What time do you work?" I asked, biting my lip as my game loaded up, simultaneously trying to think of what time the little get-together my mother told me of was today.

Milo shrugged his large shoulders, chewing slowly. "Called in sick today," He said around his food and I made a face at him. He grinned sheepishly, wiping his mouth now that it was empty. "Renee called me yesterday, reminding me of the little party, just in case you forgot. And it's at one o'clock; we're going for a late lunch and supper, bring a heavy coat because there was word of a bon fire as well."

Rolling my eyes for the second time in just a few short minutes, I stared at the screen, mashing buttons on my controller. "Remind me again why _we_ have to meet her family. I mean, Emmett's the one dating her so it makes sense that he's got to meet them, by why all of us?"

"Because," Milo replied in his matter-of-fact voice. "They're not just dating anymore, but living together, which means things could get even more serious. Like, marriage serious. So the families are getting to know one another before they become in-laws. Happens all the time, or so I read." He stated, setting his empty bowl on the coffee table. "And it's eleven thirty right now, so I should go change."

"But you _just _got dressed." I pointed out, my face scrunching up in confusion as he got to his feet.

"Yes, but this isn't 'Meet the Family' material, Bella. I'll need something a little more formal." He replied, like it was an obvious fact that everyone in the world knew.

A warm smiled tugged at my lips as he padded out of the room. "You're such a Pretty Boy!" I hollered after him.

"The Prettiest!" He shouted back.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Half an hour later, and dozens upon dozens of exploded zombies, Milo came back out of his room. I raised my eyebrow skeptically, wondering how it could _possibly_ take that long to put on what he had. He traded the jeans for black dress pants, and the KoRn band tee for a pink band tee of some sort of band -the emblem was half covered and I couldn't make out what it was from the couch- with a black blazer over top and a pair of pink chucks. He grinned at me, holding out his arms and spun around while I rolled my eyes. "So? What do you think?"

"I think that we need to leave right now or we'll be late. How'd it take that long for you to put on that?" I asked, turning off the console and TV.

Milo huffed, grabbing his car keys from the kitchen bar, along with his cellphone and headed for the door. "I had to try on other things first. Can we stop and get something to eat on the way, 'cause I'm starving now." He mumbled, rubbing his flat stomach.

"That's why we're going for a late lunch, remember?" I replied, following him into the elevator outside our door. "But what if we don't like the food?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Good point; we wouldn't want to go hungry for the rest of the day."

"Exactly," I murmured. "So something small."

Milo nodded before snapping his fingers. "But we've got to take supper into consideration. It could be hours before we're able to eat again. Something small won't hold me over."

Yet another good point; we were on a roll.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"This can't be it." I muttered, staring out my window with wide eyes at the giant, white, mansion in front of us. "No way."

Milo, just as shocked as I was, sat in the driver's seat, staring out the front windshield with his mouth hanging open. "Her family's loaded!" He exclaimed.

Now, that wasn't to say our family was poor or anything like that. We did well, maybe not high class, more like middle class. My dad, Charlie, was a cop in Seattle, and my mom, Renee, taught kindergarden. Emmett worked security at the national bank, and I was a photographer. But if I had to guess, I'd say that at least _one_ family member here was a doctor. There was no doubt in my mind.

"Well, let's get this over with, eh?" I laughed nervously, getting out of the car. Renee's little car was already in the driveway next to a silver volvo that was parked next to a mercedes.

Oh yeah, definitely a doctor in there somewhere.

Milo fished his phone out of his pocket while we walked up the porch, nudging me with his shoulder as he sent off a text. "Jake invited us for drinks later at the bar."

The door swung open before I could reply to that and we were swept into a bright front foyer. The woman was half an inch shorter than myself, with long caramel hair flowing over her shoulders, a heart shaped face, a warm smile, and bright violet eyes. Her clothes, though casual, still looked fancy and expensive, and I inwardly grimaced at the choice of jeans I wore. She was positively _beaming_ at us, and I was afraid that if her smile grew any wider, it would crack her face in two. "Hello! You must be Bella and Milo, it is so good to meet you. I'm Esme, welcome to our house." She said. Even her voice was friendly and warm.

"Um, yeah, that's Milo and I'm Bella." I said quietly, jerking my thumb in Milo's direction and then to me. "Nice to meet you."

Her face brightened. "Well, come on in; would you like the tour or do you just want to head out to the back patio where everyone else is?"

"Patio." Milo and I both said in unison.

She smiled again, leading us from the front foyer to a bright hall that was lined with family photos. We cut through the enormous, shiny, kitchen and out the back french doors to the patio where everyone was. Renee, in a yellow sundress, had her hair up and wore a pair of large sunglasses, laughing and sipping from a tall glass. She looked over to Charlie, who was in a pair of dress pants and a white button up, grabbing his hand with a smile and turned back to the conversation. Charlie's lips twitched up into a small smile as well, his chocolate brown eyes warming up just a tad as he looked back at Renee, watching her laugh.

My eyes flickered over to who Renee was talking with, widening slightly. A boy, about my age, sat next to her. His hair was unusual, a reddish brown colour, like copper, and defying gravity it seemed. His skin was as pale as mine, if not more so, his features chiseled and sharp, very handsome looking. His emerald green eyes sparkled while his mouth curved up in a crooked smile. Renee let out another laugh, and he concluded his little story, settling back in his chair to chuckle. His clothes, too, were expensive looking. Beige slacks, shiny black shoes, and a long black shirt.

Next to him sat a blonde man, obviously Esme's husband, His hair was a light blonde, slicked back from his face. His features were fairly sharp as well, though softer than the other boy's, his face warmer. Grey eyes blinked behind bold, black framed glasses as he ran a hand through his blonde hair, nodding and crossing his legs at his ankles, relaxing back into his chair. More fancy clothes were on him; black pants and a pale blue polo T shirt, with a shiny, expensive looking watch on his wrist.

Another blonde was across the table, this one I recognized as Rosalie. Her long, golden hair cascaded down her back, slightly wavy today, with a flower tucked in her ear. Her bright violet eyes, that I now knew she got from her mother, were softer today than most days. Usually, I saw them in a glare, narrowed at something or someone who offended her in some way. Which wasn't very hard to do, I had found out early, seeing as they were usually narrowed at me. She wore a sundress as well, though hers was a pale blue that matched her father's shirt, her heels white with small roses on them.

Emmett sat next to her, his bulking form the largest at the table. He usually had his dark hair slicked back as well, though all his life there were a few rebellious curls that no one seemed able to do anything about. His large shoulders shook as he let out a booming laugh, causing Esme to jump slightly and me to snicker. His blue eyes, that he got from Renee, sparkled with mirth as his mouth slowly grew into a goofy grin. A crisp, red button up was threatening to rip as it concealed his muscles, and I felt slightly better as I noticed he, too, was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans.

Finally, the last person and the only one who noticed us, stood up from the table with a polite smile. His hair was a mixture of gold and blonde, wavy and curly. His eyes were a darker violet than Esme's or Rosalie's as they flickered over me and Milo curiously. My own eyes took in the many scars on his face, running up and down his neck, and a few through his left eyebrow, down his cheek, across his lips, and to his neck. All of them disappeared in the collar of his yellow polo T shirt. There were a few more scars running down his arms, though not as many, and some on his hands that he absently slipped into the pockets of his black slacks.

Everyone else looked up at his movements, all of the men standing up.

Obviously these were well mannered, classy people.

How on earth did Emmett end up with them?

"Everyone, this is Bella and Milo." Esme said, a hand on both of our shoulders. I felt my cheeks begin to heat up. "This is my husband Carlisle," Carlisle leaned over the table to shake both our hands, offering a friendly smile. "Edward," The bronze haired boy waved with that crooked smile. "Your parents you know, along with your brother, and you've met Rosalie before, correct?" Rosalie's smile, though small, was genuine as she murmured a few greeting words to us. "And her twin, Jasper."

"Pleasure to meet you." Jasper said, his voice gravelly but warm.

Milo cleared his throat, smiling at Esme and Carlisle. "You've got a nice house."

A few eyebrows rose. "That's quite the accent; Irish?" Carlisle asked with a smile.

"Aye," Milo nodded.

"Well have a seat, you two, is there anything I can get you? We have water, iced tea, all kinds of juice, or coffee. Carlisle, what kind of alcohol-"

"Iced tea sounds good, please and thank you." I chimed in before she could finish. I didn't feel like drinking, not if we'd be drinking later at the bar, and Milo was the driver. Besides, I didn't want Carlisle have to try and remember it all, especially if I wasn't interested in the first place.

"Same here, thanks." Milo grinned.

Esme scurried off back into the kitchen while everyone settled back into their chairs again. Emmett wrapped an arm around my shoulders, grinning down at me. "Mom was just telling Eddie about your piano lessons and how many instructors you went through." He said with a laugh.

My face reddened even more as Edward chuckled across the table again. I looked up into his emerald eyes, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, I kind of had a habit of playing sheet music backwards. My instructors couldn't put up with it; they thought I was doing it on purpose." Which I really wasn't; at nine years old I wasn't a trouble maker. If anything, I was almost a goody two shoes. But every time I tried playing from sheet music, I ended up playing the song backwards. I'm not sure why; it was a long time ago and hard to remember. Eventually we gave up on instructors, so I was self taught, because learning by ear was just easier for me.

Edward laughed again, smiling his crooked smile. "I play the piano myself; I, too, was taught from a very young age, though I don't think I've ever had it in me to play anything backwards."

A smile tugged at my lips. "What can I say; it was a gift." I popped my lip into my mouth, playing with my lip ring nervously. It was a habit. "I don't mean to sound so blunt," That was a _lie_. Being blunt was my thing; I enjoyed people's reactions. "But you're not related to the Cullens, are you?"

Carlisle smiled, patting Edward's shoulder. "No, Edward's been a friend of the family for a long time. Him and Jasper have been friends since they could barely walk."

Jasper and Edward looked up at each other and I raised an eyebrow. Friends? No way in hell; there was affection and love in that little silent exchange.

I looked back to Carlisle, who seemed oblivious, and then to Milo who nodded. Milo had exceptional gaydar.

Esme set down two tall glasses of iced tea in front of Milo and me, smiling before sitting next to Carlisle. She sighed, looking to Rosalie with a frown. "Where is that sister of yours? I swear, she's always late."

"I did suggest telling her an earlier time than everyone else so she'd be here on time." Jasper laughed, sharing a knowing look with Rosalie. "She texted me a minute ago; she'll be here soon."

Esme huffed quietly to herself, looking to Carlisle with a little frown. "She's late _and_ texting while she's driving."

"She's an excellent driver, honey, she's fine." Carlisle attempted to ease his wife. She nodded, though I could still see the worry clear in her eyes.

Well, it was a good thing this was out of Charlie's jurisdiction. _Hello there, dear. Ah yes, my son's moving in with your sister. By the way, here's a ticket for texting while driving. It was great meeting you!_

After a moment or two of lull in conversation, Rosalie's violet eyes met mine and she smiled. "I take it you like the shirt then?" She asked, pointedly looking at it.

I glanced down at the blue tee shirt under my leather coat, a grin pulling at my lips. "Very much so, thank you."

Renee huffed quietly. "You couldn't have worn a dress or something, just this one time, Bella? This is a special occasion."

My shoulders rose and fell in a shrug while Carlisle chuckled. "Don't worry, there's no need to get dolled up for us."

"We don't judge you… too badly." Jasper smirked and I playfully rolled my eyes. I was starting to like Rosalie's family more and more. "So what do you do for a living, Bella?"

"I take pictures, actually. I'm a photographer." I replied.

Edward's brows rose in curiosity. "Anything we might recognize?"

"Not unless you read any Seattle magazines." Milo chuckled while I jabbed him in the side. "You should come over some time, though, there's her personal shots hanging up all around the apartment. She's quite talented."

Trying to fight off my blush, I grabbed my glass of iced tea and started chugging while Milo and Emmett laughed at me. Edward smirked, running a hand through his bronze locks. "Piano and photography; you sound like quite the artist."

Esme's eyes lit up, taking Edward's friendly comments as flirting. It seemed both of Jasper's parents were oblivious to his orientation; which was understandable, he didn't scream gay. Neither did Jasper, for that matter, they were like Milo in that way. And since his parents didn't know, that led me to believe they were hiding their relationship.

"Edward, you and Bella should go on a date!" Esme gushed. "You're perfect for each other, oh and I'm sure Elizabeth will love her!" Edward grimaced, sinking lower in his chair, unnoticed as Esme beamed at me.

They were _so_ hiding.

Renee's eyes widened fractionally while Charlie covered up his chuckled with a cough into his handkerchief. I looked back over to Esme, offering a tight smile. "No thanks, I'm gay."

Emmett choked on the sip of iced tea he was drinking, and started laughing into his cup. He set it down and wiped his mouth, booming out another laugh. Even Rosalie cracked a larger smile than I had ever seen on her, as she took in her mother's shocked and bewildered face. Carlisle seemed a little confused, looking at me and then to his wife a few times. Both Edward and Jasper's jaws were hanging open while they both studied Esme and Carlisle's reactions, shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Finally, Esme seemed to gather words. "I… I'm sorry, what?"

I cleared my throat, making sure my words were clear this time. Often, whenever I used that line on people, they mistook my words for _no thanks, I'm good._ Like I was turning down a drink, or desert or something. "No, thank you. I'm not into guys."

She bit her lip, looking to Edward and then back to me. "Oh. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

This time it was _my_ eyebrows rising. People were hardly ever that understanding.

Esme smiled at me and then Edward again. "I still think you guys would make great friends; you really are a match. Just not a romantic one, it seems." She replied.

Edward and Jasper looked at each other, confused, before conversation took a turn and began flowing smoothly once again. Emmett and Rosalie started talking about this place they found that they wanted to move into, her and Esme talked about designs and decorations while Emmett gave Milo, Edward, Jasper, and me the bad news that we were the moving buddies. Charlie offered to help, but Renee would have none of that, claiming that he couldn't throw out his back with the long shifts coming his way at work. Carlisle also offered to help and wasn't turned down like Charlie, but he could only help an hour or two a day before he had to be back at work.

Lunch was just about ready, according to Esme, when it happened.

Honestly, I had been expecting it to happen since the moment Esme opened the front door to me and Milo. I was waiting for it, trying to prepare myself, perhaps even try to prevent it.

Alas, I couldn't fight my very own nature.

Emmett was telling me about some movie that he and Rosalie saw the previous night, some sort of action drama, when I reached for my iced tea. Evidently, last time I set it down, I set it too close to the edge, and knocked it to the side and off the table, onto my lap. Lucky for me there was only a few sips left; enough to make it look like I peed myself, but not make a terrible mess.

Both Emmett and I jumped to our feet, Emmett already laughing at me while I apologized profusely and tried to wipe up with the napkin beside my empty, porcelain plate. "I'm so sorry; I'm a terrible klutz. I'm sorry."

Jasper chuckled, grabbing the, surprisingly, undamaged glass and placed it on the table. "No harm done, Bella. I'll show you to one of the washrooms; I imagine that will get sticky and we should try and rinse it out." Everyone else at the table were trying to hide their amusement as I excused myself and followed the blonde boy throughout the house. He looked over his shoulder, grinning at me as he stood next to a closed door. "This is the washroom; if you want, I can go try to find a pair of Rosalie's old pants. I'm sure there's sweats or something up there in her room still."

"No, that's fine. It's not that bad, really. Already starting to dry." I replied quickly. Sure, I was in Rosalie's good books right now, but one wrong step and I'd be back on the receiving end of that ice glare. I would not take my chances borrowing her clothes; she adored them.

He held up his hands, nodding; his blonde locks bouncing. "Alright, I'll head back unless you think you'll get lost on your way by yourself." I raised a skeptical eyebrow at him and he grinned again. "What, this is a big house. It's happened a few times; my dad had to go find one of his work buddies who had to use the washroom, once. The guy had been trying to find his way back for almost ten minutes."

"Well…" I muttered, not sure if I believed him or not. If anyone else had said it, I'd call their bluff, but Jasper didn't seem like he was lying. His voice, tone, eyes, they were all honest. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, send out the search party."

He chuckled before turning back down the hall and disappearing around a corner.

With a shrug of my shoulders, I closed the bathroom door and pulled off my leather coat, hanging it on the back of the door and hopped onto the counter next to the sink. There was no way I was taking off my pants in a stranger's home. Too soon. There was just some things in life I didn't do; and getting naked in a stranger's bathroom was one of them. Which was ironic, because strangers were constantly naked in my apartment.

Five minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom with my coat over my arm, looking down at my lap. Still looked like I peed myself, but at least it wasn't sticky and was starting to dry already.

Pursing my lips, I looked down the hall and began my trek, trying to remember which turns to make and where. On my way to the bathroom, we walked down two halls and a living room.

"Crap…" I sighed, turning another corner and ending up with a hallway on either side of me. Was it a right or a left here?

They should have a map up on the wall every little ways, saying _you are here._

My fingers twitched and I began reaching into my pocket to pull out my phone and text Emmett to ask if he could come find me. But a shadow bounced off one of the walls and disappeared down the hall to the right, so I quickly chased after it. Hopefully it was Esme, or even Jasper again, so I could just follow them back outside. I picked up my pace when I turned down another hall, losing the shadow altogether.

Not good.

What a labyrinth of a house! I half expected a minotaur to pop out and attack me.

"Oof!" The air was knocked from me as someone's elbow sunk into my stomach while we crashed, and I braced myself as I fell on them. They were tiny, impossibly so, and I thanked whoever was listening that I was smart enough to put out my hands and catch myself before completely crushing them. "I'm so sorry!" I gasped, pushing more of my weight onto my arms as I looked down at the elf beneath me. Her hair was cropped short, styled in a dishevelled way that looked like fancy bed head. But not bed head… messy, but stylishly so. It was dark, almost black really, and was currently obstructing my view of the brightest, clearest blue eyes I had ever seen. Her thick, long lashes batted against her pale skin as she blinked up at me, seemingly a little dazed from the collision, her blood red lips parted in surprise. "Sorry!" I repeated, pushing myself off of her and to my feet.

She hesitated only a second before taking my offered hand and I pulled her to her feet easily. She was incredibly light, like a feather and I had the sudden urge to scoop her up in my arms. "It was my fault; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Her voice was high, light, and had a melodic quality to it. She smiled brightly at me then and I felt my cheeks heat up. "You must be Emmett's sister, Bella. The family resemblance is uncanny."

"Er… right! Yeah, Bella, that's me." I managed to get the words out, shaking my head and shook her hand. "And you're… Rosalie's sister?" I said, though it came out sounding more like a question.

She looked absolutely _nothing_ like the Cullens. Not even a little bit.

She nodded though, anyway, and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Yes, I'm Alice. Adopted, as I'm sure you've just guessed." She giggled.

"I'm sorry… again." Why? Why did I have to be such a fool _all_ the time?

She crinkled her nose and waved off my apology. "There's no need for that. Some people find it a touchy subject, but I don't."

"Okay," I nodded, but was still kicking myself in my head. "So, I didn't mean to follow you there. I mean, I did, but not to just follow you. I'm kind of lost." I said, looking around the hall and popped my lip ring back into my mouth nervously.

Alice giggled again, hooking her arm around mine and began leading me back through the house. "It happens more often than you would think. The house is deceptionally small looking from the outside."

"What? Are you kidding? This place is a mansion, inside _and_ out." I exclaimed.

She pursed her lips, humming. "Yes, I suppose it must be for strangers. Once you've lived here your entire life almost, it gets smaller." She replied.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." My head was furiously nodding, and I feared it would nod right off my shoulders. Good gravy, what was this pixie doing to me? "Back in elementary, I swore the school was enormous, the biggest building I'd ever seen. Then, when I moved onto middle school, the old one seemed so tiny, and I _swore_ that the middle school was bigger, that I could get lost in it and never find my way out. Then I went onto _high_ school, and _that_ place was enormous! I really _did_ get lost so many times, it was nearly three times as big as the middle school, and I was certain I'd never see a larger building in my life. Then I graduated, and whenever I pass it, it seems so small and minuscule, and I wonder how I ever got lost in the first place, you know?" Finally my jaw slammed shut, and I firmly pressed my lips together into a line.

I'm pretty sure that was the most talking I've ever done in my life.

And it was about absolutely _nothing_.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Alice tilted her head to the side, those electric blue eyes scanning me over again. "You're odd, you know that?" She said in a polite voice, as if she were just stating that the sky, was in fact, blue. There wasn't a spec of judgment in her eyes, nowhere on her face. She was just smiling that warm, friendly smile still.

My shoulders sagged slightly. "Yeah, I know." I nodded slowly, with a defeated tone.

Screw odd; I was blatantly, screamingly obvious, flat out, point blank weird.

But I had recognized, and accepted, this when I was about six years old and I had found out that, no, not every child acts out scenes from Shakespeare's Macbeth in front of their classmates with finger paint, accents, and dramatic flailing about.

What? It wasn't my fault I recognized the man's brilliance at a young age.

Charlie had forbid Renee from reading me 'bedtime stories' from then on.

"Ah, there you are, Bella. Everyone was getting worried that actually _may_ have gotten lost in the house." Jasper's voice made me jump and whirl around, smiling nervously. His eyes travelled past me and to the pixie, his face warming up exponentially. "Alice; you're finally here! It's good to see you."

Alice launched herself at her brother, squeezing him tight and burying her face in his chest. "Jazz, I missed you! We need to hang out more often; it feels like it's been forever."

"Don't you look at me like that; _you're_ the one who never seems to have time."

"Only because _you_ have the night job. Most people work during the day, Jazz. I can only hang out during the evening."

"What, you don't get days off from school anymore?"

"I suppose; I've just been busy lately. You know how it is."

"Yeah,"

Both Cullens turned to look at me with raised eyebrows, and I realized with a start that _I_ had said that last one. Heat creeped up my neck, and the tips of my ears felt like they were on fire. Jasper chuckled, slowly looking back to his sister. "Mom's going to kill you for being late, you know that, right?"

She sighed deeply, nodding with a slight pout on her face. The heat intensified and I quickly looked away. "Yes, I know. I couldn't find my heels for the life of me, and then had to pick out an entire new outfit."

My traitorous eyes slowly flickered back to the two, taking in the shiny black heels, following creamy pale legs up to a short grey skirt (ha! right! like you could call it that! more like patch of small fabric!), she also wore a deep blue blouse, with a grey, V neck sweater over top. Now, don't get me wrong - the girl was freakin' gorgeous, but I didn't understand how that made her so late. Surely it couldn't take long to put the stuff on; it was just shoes, a skirt, and two shirts. Five minutes, if that. Unless of course she was like Milo, who took an hour to put on pants.

"You'll make a pretty corpse once mom's done with you." He laughed, shaking his head. He turned back to smile brightly at me, his arm hooking around Alice's shoulders. "So you've met Bella, have you?"

"Yes, we just bumped into each other before you got here." Alice said with a giggle behind a delicate, pale hand. "But my, she does look so much like Emmett, doesn't she?"

Jasper nodded, his blonde curly/wavy hair bouncing up and down. "It's the smile - carefree and charming."

The heat traveled further up my neck to my jaw and I looked away again. "Yes, I agree."

"Speaking of which, I should probably get back to the giant." I said quickly, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Both of them, actually. Milo does terrible impersonations when he gets nervous."

"Aw, are you blushing, darlin'?" Jasper drawled, winking at me when I glanced up at him. My eyes immediately shot back down to the ground again. "You're adorable, you know that, Bella?" He laughed, hooking his arm with mine and started guiding me back through the maze of his house. "I think we're going to enjoy seeing more of you - and that smile."

My face could _not_ get any redder than it was. _Why_ did people insist on making a game out of trying to make me blush? First Emmett, then Milo, Jake, Ben and Angela, now Jasper?

"What did Rosalie call it? The knee-wobbler?" Alice's tinkling laugh followed close behind us.

And apparently Alice, too.

Great.

Emmett grinned widely at me when the three of us returned to the patio, standing up to pull out my seat for me. I glared at him, or rather that damn grin, as I sat down. I didn't grin like that… did I? I mean, yeah, all of the people that I had, er, hooked up with over the years had one time or another mentioned a smile or something. But it wasn't a… knee-wobbler, right?

"Did you get lost, Bella?" He asked with a booming laugh, slapping my shoulder, jerking me forward.

I sucked in the wind that was knocked from me and straightened up. "No,"

His eyebrows started wiggling as he leaned down. "Bella…?"

"No,"

"…Bella…?"

"Emmett," I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and fixed him with a glare.

"Bellllllllllaaaaaa?"

Renee, Charlie, and Milo all looked like they were holding back a laugh, and tried to look away nonchalantly as I glared at them. I didn't chance looking at any of the Cullens as I huffed again and slunk further into my chair. "Fine, I got lost."

"I knew it!" He crowed, throwing his head back to laugh. He patted my shoulder, the feeling very similar to someone trying to rip your arm out of its socket. The guy really had no idea of the strength he exerted. "Don't worry, Bella Boo, I've gotten lost a few times, too."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, gingerly rubbing my shoulder while I glared up at him.

Esme rose from her chair, engulfing Alice in a warm, motherly hug and squishing the little pixie to her. "Mary Alice, how you never manage to keep time is beyond me. Do you not have a clock in your apartment?"

"Sorry, mom." She smiled sheepishly.

The motherly woman huffed, straightening out her daughter's clothes again. "You always have me worried sick when you do that; what if you get into an accident? What if you're stranded without cell service or your battery runs out? We'd never know and assume you're running late, _again,_ and let so much time go by that once we finally realize you're _not_ just late, you could be kidnapped or worse!"

"Sorry, mom." Alice repeated.

"Yes, well, there you go." Esme nodded to herself, feeling she got her point across. She smiled then, pulling out Alice's chair and gesturing to the Irish giant on my other side. "You haven't met Milo, yet, have you?"

He got to his feet, leaning over the table to shake Alice's hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, what a lovely accent." She said, her eyebrows shooting up. She continued to hold onto his hand, a beaming smile on her face.

My brows furrowed as I watched him smile in return, still shaking her hand. "He's gay," I blurted out before I could stop myself, blushing ten types of red as everyone looked at me and my outburst, a little startled. "I… I mean, he's Irish." I said quickly. "And Greek, too. But the accent is Irish."

Face, meet Table. Table, please hurt Face.

Milo gave me a confused look before sitting back down, clearing his throat and looked back over to Alice. "Uh, yes, on all accounts. Gay, Irish, and Greek. I'm also a fan of music, I like spending my days at the mall whenever I can drag Bella out of the apartment, and I'm a Sagittarius." He said, earning a chuckle from everyone.

The rest of the day was more or less a success; I managed to keep my mouth shut for most of it after that, Renee and Charlie got along great with Rosalie's parents, Milo and I made plans to hang out with Edward and Jasper the next week, and Milo made a new friend in Alice. By the time everyone gathered around the fire at the end of the night, we were all exchanging stories and jokes, sharing laughs, and talking like everyone was an old high school buddy.

All in all, the family intertwinement-thing was a go and Emmett was excited that everybody liked everyone else.

**.**

**.**

**.**

A large, tanned hand placed my drink down on the bar in front of me, tossing a small stirring stick into it because he knew I liked the stick, no matter what drink I was having. "Scotch on the rocks, with a twist." My eyes flickered up into dark, black ones surrounded by thick, long lashes. Though he had just cut his hair, and now the dark locks were cropped short, Jake was still a good looking guy. He hard, strong features, with just enough boyish looks that made girls either want to swoon or become the guy's best buddy, and his large arms and body builder frame made other guys green with envy. Unless you were Milo or Emmett, all of which were basically the same size.

It was like I was some kind of mountain magnet.

"Jacob Black, what would we do without you and your bar?" I asked with a lazy grin, spinning my glass around, spilling some of the liquid inside.

A snort sounded to my side and I looked over to Leah who's back was leaning against the bar beside me, her arms crossing her chest. She was the female equivalent to Jake; the dark eyes, long, curly lashes, black locks of hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back. Stone hard, toned muscles, and always showing enough skin to give you glimpses of tribal tattoos here and there. Ripped jeans and tank tops usually hid the ink, leather bands and bracelets constantly around her wrists, necklaces hanging from her neck. She an exotic punk, with a heated, dangerous attitude.

It was times like this I wondered if I was intellectually challenged for shooting down her offer for a relationship.

But then I'd remember how emotionally crippled I was, and that I'd prefer her friendship (with benefits from time to time), than her hating my guts for breaking her heart.

'Twas all good, man.

"We'd be stealing beer from the Rez Liquor store and hiding in Billy's basement still." She answered, her eyes shooting to me, the corner of her mouth curving up in a smirk.

"Ah," I nodded, taking a rather large sip and swivelling around on my stool, looking out at the bar. "That's right. Back in the good old days."

Her shoulder lifted in a half shrug. "Those days sucked; I prefer these ones."

It had also been when Sam, her boyfriend of four years, who she was deeply in love with, broke up with her to date her best friend Emily. The bastard didn't get away with it, though, and ended up with a broken nose the very next day. Downside to that was I sported a broken hand for the next little while and taking notes in class was a bitch.

"So, Bella," Milo sang, sauntering up to the bar from the massive crowd of people dancing in the middle of the room. He had changed into a pair of jeans and a band tee again after the Cullens, and no doubt had been breaking hearts on that dance floor. I could see a few different pairs of eyes follow him over. "You wanna tell the guys about our visit with the future in-laws?"

Jake placed his hands on the bar, leaning forward to hear better with a grin on his face. Even Seth started mixing drinks closer to us, one eye and ear on the conversation. "That's right, you met the Cullens earlier. How'd it go?" He asked curiously.

Nervously, I cleared my throat and looked away. "Meh, it was fine. Nothin' special."

Milo scoffed, grabbing his bottle of beer and took a swig. "Other than a certain little fairy had you reverting back to your blushing, rambling, teenage ways."

"Pixie," I murmured with a glare. "She looked like a pixie."

Jacob threw his head back, barking out a laugh while Seth nearly dropped the bottle of vodka, his eyes wide and staring at me. "Seriously?"

"Alright, fine. I guess she was kind of," _Really, very, very,_ "pretty, or whatever. But I was just nervous about making a good first impression on the rest of the family for the sake of Emmett." I tried for nonchalance, but Leah's skeptical look and raised eyebrow told me they weren't buying it. "Charlie and Renee got along great with the Cullens, though, so that's good news."

Seth nodded, smiling brightly. "Yeah, that _is_ good. Emmett came in here last night, and he seemed pretty nervous about it. He really wanted everyone to like each other; do you think he's getting serious about their relationship?"

Pouring another drink and sliding it down the bar to the outstretched hand waiting, Jake made a noise in the back of his throat. "Em's never serious about anything, but you know how he is; 'if you're not moving forwards, then you're moving backwards' and Emmett doesn't like moving backwards." He grinned over at me. "Tends to trip and fall a lot when he can't see where he's going."

My shoulders rose. "Well my big bear of a brother is madly in love with the blonde bombshell, and if anyone can put up with his own childlike behaviour enough to start a family, then it's Rosalie. Who, I heard from Jasper, is mega baby crazy."

Milo's eyes widened. "Really? I get to be an uncle soon, then?" He asked, his whole face lighting up.

"I'd be more focused on groomsman at this point; they're only now moving in together." Leah piped up. "And Emmett's never really mentioned kids at all. Does he even like them?"

I furrowed my brows, taking another sip of my drink. "Does challenging and schooling the kids on his street at roller hockey count?" He did it fairly often.

No one seemed to have an answer, and it was more or less quiet for the next couple of songs. Seth and Jacob impressed the crowd gathering around the bar with their moves while mixing drinks, and a few different suitors dragged Milo back off onto the dance floor. I remained on my perch at the bar, watching the crowd and nursing my drink, feeling Leah's eyes on me a couple times.

Finally, after the third song, and the umpteenth time I felt that dark gaze, I looked up at her. The corner of her mouth curved up again, and I huffed. "What?" I snapped.

She did the thing she always does, forgetting about personal space again like it didn't exist, and leaned against the bar right beside me, semi leaning against my thigh. She levelled me with a look, and I suddenly felt very similar to a caged canary, staring at a mischievous cat. "So this… pixie, was it? What's her name?"

But I wouldn't let her get to me; I was _not_ going back into the nervous, stuttering, rambler stage again. It was embarrassing enough the first time. "Her name's Alice."

"Oh, and what's she look like?" She asked, taking my glass from my hand and helping herself.

My jaw clenched and I willed the blush to stay down in my neck and away from my face. "Why…uh, why do you want to know what she looks like?"

The innocent look she tried to pull didn't fool me and I narrowed me eyes. She smiled. "I'm curious to know what kind of person has the infamous cool and collected Bella blushing like this. As far as I'm aware, _I'm_ the only other person whose managed to cause this kind of reaction." Her smile turned wolfish. "Is she like me?"

"Wha-no, I mean," I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "I'm not blushing, it's the alcohol. And you… I didn't blush back then, either. It was… allergies. You must have worn some kind of perfume that didn't agree with me." I said as calmly as I could, popping my lip ring back into my mouth again.

"Right," Sarcasm dripped from the word.

I huffed. "Well, not that it matters, but she doesn't look like you."

She nodded, placing the empty glass on the bar, waving at Jake who grabbed it to refill it. "Well, even so, your…'allergic reactions' were charming in their own way, as I recall; so you going to hook up with her?"

Though I tried to stop it, bitterness seeped into my voice, for reasons unknown. Totally and completely unknown, because it didn't matter to me. I didn't care. Seriously. I didn't. "She's straight as an arrow."

"Since when do you have an aversion to bending arrows, Bella?" Her dark eyes caught mine even when I tried to look away, her hand coming up to rest on my arm when she found what she wanted. "Are you scared?" She asked, incredulous.

Chugging the drink gave me a few more seconds to myself, to stall. Leah waited, ever patient, even when I started making invisible doodles on the bar with my finger. "No, I'm not… I don't know; it's just… different. _She's_ different." I grunted, shaking my head. "Hell, it was probably nothing. Just guilt over Victoria making me hesitate, or something."

Milo flopped against the bar behind Leah, who had gone from standing beside me to stand practically between my legs. He had a grin a mile wide, waving his phone around. "Alice says hi, Bella!"

Leah yelped in surprise as I jerked up straight, staring at the phone intently. "What, uh, what do you mean?"

He giggled. Yes, giggled. Have you ever seen a giggling giant before? Definitely memorable. "I _mean_ she says hi. It's a greeting, something people exchange to one another."

"Ooh, tell her Bella said she was just talking about her." Leah laughed, turning her back to my glare and staring down at the phone in Milo's hand. I tried peeking over her shoulder, but she kept shifting so I couldn't see, chuckling to herself.

There was a moment while we all waited, me with my heart pounding in my throat, Milo still giggling, and Leah looked way too amused. Finally his phone jingled again and he grinned, his eyes flickering over the screen. "She says 'all good things, I hope'."

With another wolfish smile, Leah grabbed the phone and hoisted herself over the bar. "More like naughty things."

"No!" I gasped. "Do _not_ type that!" She winked at me, dodging my arms as I reached for it, nearly growling. "Leah, come on!"

"What's the magic word?" Leah asked, her dark eyes challenging me.

My jaw clenched and I stood there, glaring at her. She stared me down, but I wouldn't let this go. However, I also wouldn't say please, because I didn't beg. Not for anything. If people weren't willing to give me what I wanted, then I would take it. Reasonably, though. I wasn't a bitch.

Not like _some_ people… coughLeahcough.

"Type _something_, she's going to think we're ignoring her." Milo pouted, weakly reaching for his phone, only for Leah to smile and hold it up above her head. He probably could have reached it, but his arms fell down to the bar as he sat on a stool, his forehead hitting the bar with a quiet thud.

He was probably done for the night.

"Hang in there, big guy." I smiled, patting his back affectionately.

Leah sighed dramatically, leaning down on the bar again her fingers furiously typing away. "Come down to the Full Moon and find out." She read her words.

_"Leah!"_

"What? I want to meet this chick, and that reply is ambiguous. Could be flirty. Could be friendly. If she sees it as flirty you might have a chance." She replied.

"And how do you figure that?" Jake asked, catching the last part of our conversation.

She shrugged. "Because; if she takes it friendly, then she only sees you as a friend. If she takes it flirty, then she, at least, doesn't just see you as an innocent friend. I'm just helping you skirt around the friend zone, Bella."

"Do you think you could fit the word friend _one_ more time into that?" Jake laughed, crossing his large arms over his chest. "But the woman makes a valid point, Bells."

I just grumbled in response, muttering things under my breath. "Your _mom_ makes a valid point," Leah rolled her eyes while Jake just looked amused. "In my pants."

"You are _so_ lame sometimes, Bella, it's a wonder you ever get laid." She huffed. The screen lit up and she grinned again, looking down on it. "She says that she 'regrettably can't' and she's got classes in the morning, but that you three 'should definitely make plans' to hang out soon." Leah frowned, her shoulders sagging. "There goes my fun."

"School?" Seth asked, resting his elbows on the bar and his chin in his hands, raising an eyebrow. "Since when have you ever been a cradle robber?"

A grunt came from the massive lump beside me and we all looked down at Milo who raised his head, his eyes glazed over, a slight pout on his face. "She's in university. Twenty one years old."

"You're like a walking Facebook, pal." Jacob laughed, shaking his head. "So she's _just_ legal, eh?"

"You know what? I don't have to explain myself to you guys." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and glared at Leah. "Not that there is anything to explain anyways, because I'm not even interested. She's just kind of pretty." _And her beauty is burned on the backs of my eyelids,_ but still. I wasn't going to fawn over this girl, at least, not in front of everyone.

Seth patted my back, smiling brightly. "She's probably just your singer." Multiple eyebrows rose as we all turned to look at him like he grew a second head. He blushed, looking down at the bar, pretending to wipe it down. "Well, you know; there's people out there that you just find _so_ appealing, they just draw you in, like you're in a trance or something, right? So just, you know, do the deed and you'll probably get over it."

…

"You are freaking ridiculous, Sethy." Leah shook her head.

He continued to avert his eyes, looking anywhere but at us. "Yeah, well…yeah. I should probably stop listening to drunken 'romantic' chatter."

I snorted. "Don't tell me you got that from old Aro." The old Veteran was constantly sitting in one of the corners of the bar in his old uniform, always mumbling some sort of nonsense. He was harmless enough, and we actually enjoyed talking to him from time to time, but he _did_ tend to say the weirdest things. Like, if he 'hadn't had the falling out with Caius' then he would be 'ruling Italy' with his two war brothers, or something along those lines.

Seth shrugged. "I don't know, sometimes the things he says… they make sense."

"Knockin' back a few tonight, hm?" Jake asked, ducking his head to look Seth in the face.

He shoved him in the arm, scowling and walked to the other end of the bar. "Wha'da you guys know, anyways…"

Sharing a final chuckle with the others at little Seth's expense, I checked my phone and slipped a few bills over to Jake who nodded at me. "Well, it's getting pretty late and I've had a long day. I'm going to take the sleeping giant over here home."

"Alone? There's a blonde at the end of the bar whose been checking you out for the past half hour, you know." Jake said, jerking his thumb. My eyes followed it, taking in the barbie look alike, pressing my lips in a thin line. She smiled widely, winking, and I hummed in response, considering it.

Until the green eyes suddenly turned electric blue, and the long blonde hair shorted and spiked out, darkening into a deep black.

I shook my head, pulling Milo away from the bar, his heavy arm around my shoulders as he swayed on his feet. "Nah, I'm pretty tired. Catch you guys later."

"Mark the calendar, Jake, the King and Queen of Flings are _both_ going home alone tonight!" Leah smirked, squeezing my hand before turning back to the bar.

"See ya, guys!" Seth called out before we stepped into the chilly night on the sidewalk.

I took in a deep lungful of cold, night air, and sighed, watching it curl into the darkness. With a grunt, I wrapped Milo's arm tighter around my shoulders, and mine around his waist, listening to him mutter some nonsense as we started down the sidewalk to the apartment.

"What a day."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Well, so before all of you start getting into a huff about one thing or another "You still have so many stories to finish; don't write MORE." or "You call this a one shot, there was hardly even any Alice in it." It is both and neither.**

**This is a short story, but longer than a one shot. It'll have a few long chapters like this; no more than five, though. If that. And I won't be popping them out like octa-mom or anything. It'll be a while until the next one, since all the chapters are mega long like this one. So you'll be getting, like, five long one shots between updates on longer stories.**

**I'm not going to lie; this is mostly for me. To continue to hone in my writing skills, I may even play with a lemon for the first time. No promises, though, because it's VERY awkward writing that. I'm an awkward person, if you couldn't tell. Hehehe.**

**Okay, I hope you don't yell, but input is still nice. Review and suchness. :)**

**-Paige**


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